Product preheating with heat pump

ABSTRACT

A method for hot filling of liquids uses a flash pasteurizer including a first heat exchanger, a filling station and a cooling tunnel including a plurality of cooling cells. The liquids are filled into containers in the filling station. The filled containers are cooled in the cooling tunnel using a cooling liquid. The liquids are heated before being filled into the containers, by feeding thermal energy from the cooling liquid that was heated during the cooling of the filled containers to the flash pasteurizer using a separate heat pump.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. DE 102011 077 375.4, filed Jun. 10, 2011, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The invention relates to a method for the hot filling of liquids, inparticular juices, with a flash pasteuriser, which comprises a firstheat exchanger, a filling station for filling the liquids intocontainers, for example bottles, and a cooling tunnel, which comprises aplurality of cooling cells, for cooling the filled containers by meansof a cooling liquid, for example water, and also relates to anappropriate device for implementing the method.

BACKGROUND

In the state of the art it is known that liquids, in particularbeverages or similar items containing juice, are heated before fillingand are then filled warm/hot. The hot filling here ensures thesterilisation of the container and furthermore it simultaneouslyprovides pasteurization of the product, say the beverage. After fillingthe liquid into the containers the products in the containers, which aretypically closed, are cooled to at least ambient temperature or adesired storage temperature for improved handling and also for storagepurposes.

To heat the juice typically vapour is used, for example steam, which ispassed through a heat exchanger, thus transferring the heat from thesteam to the product to be warmed/preheated, i.e. the beverage juice.Then, for the purposes of cooling typically a cooling tower and/or arefrigerating plant is employed.

For example, the liquid to be heated can be passed at approximately roomtemperature into the heat exchanger and is heated therein totemperatures of 80-90° C. Then the filling into containers typicallyfollows. For cooling the containers filled with the product typically acooling section such as say a cooling tunnel is used which is connectedto a cooling tower. In the simplest case the thermal energy present inthe containers with the filled, still hot liquid is dissipated into thesurroundings. This energy is then lost from the system.

With regard to an at least partial recovery of the heat present in theliquid in the containers, in the state of the art it is known to employheat exchangers. The cooling water used during cooling is heated due tothe cooling process. A heat exchanger can extract thermal energy fromthe cooling water heated in this way, so that it can be used again forpreheating. For example, DE 103 51 689 A1 shows the return of processliquid for the purpose of using the heat from the cooling liquid withregard to preheating. Here one problem is however that a heat exchangercan only transfer certain, suitable energies, so that the heated coolingwater must attain a certain temperature before it can be used for heattransfer to other liquids.

DE 10 2007 003 976 A1 also describes a pasteurizing device with anintegrated heat pump, whereby a pasteurizing device comprises aplurality of the same type of pasteurizing zones or pasteurizingsegments, whereby thermal energy can be fed from a colder segment of thepasteurizing device to a hotter segment of the pasteurizing device. Inthis respect exclusively filled, closed containers are treated in thepasteurizing device. Here, the heat pump is integrated into thepasteurizing device, by means of which the configuration and complexityof the pasteurizing device are increased.

SUMMARY

In view of the above mentioned problems and the discussed state of theart, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a device for thehot filling of liquids with an efficient thermal recovery which is alsorobust and easy to operate.

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method for hotfilling of liquids using a flash pasteurizer including a first heatexchanger, a filling station and a cooling tunnel including a pluralityof cooling cells. The liquids are filled into containers in the fillingstation. The filled containers are cooled in the cooling tunnel using acooling liquid. The liquids are heated before being filled into thecontainers, by feeding thermal energy from the cooling liquid that washeated during the cooling of the filled containers to the flashpasteurizer using a separate heat pump.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in moredetail below with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional product preheating of liquids, for examplebeverage juices, with subsequent cooling by means of a cooling sectionwhich is connected to a cooling tower;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of the device according to theinvention for preheating a product, i.e. liquids, in a flash pasteuriserbefore the filling and subsequent cooling;

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of a device for the hot filling ofliquids with a heat pump and additionally a heat exchanger, which areconnected in series;

FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of a device for the hot filling ofliquids with a heat pump and a heat exchanger, which are connected inparallel.

In an embodiment, the invention provides a method for the hot filling ofliquids, in particular juices, with a flash pasteuriser, which comprisesa first heat exchanger, a filling station for filling the liquids intocontainers, for example bottles, and a cooling tunnel, which comprises aplurality of cooling cells, for cooling the filled containers by meansof a cooling liquid, for example water, whereby the liquids are heatedin the flash pasteuriser before filling into containers in the fillingstation, in that thermal energy from the cooling liquid from the coolingtunnel heated during the cooling process is passed to the flashpasteuriser by means of a separate heat pump.

In the method the liquid to be filled, the product, for example beveragejuice, is heated in the flash pasteuriser and namely already beforefilling. For this purpose the thermal energy from the cooling liquid,which heats up during the cooling process in the cooling cells of thecooling tunnel, is passed to the flash pasteuriser by means of theseparate heat pump. In this way it is no longer necessary to heat theliquid to be heated up with steam. Consequently, a significantsimplification of the device is achieved, because the steam heatingdevice, feed line and discharge line for the steam can be omitted.Furthermore, it is no longer necessary to achieve a certain temperaturelevel of the cooling liquid before it then flows through a heatexchanger in order to provide a suitable thermal transfer in the heatexchanger. In this way the degree of utilisation of the recovery isincreased. The performance figure, COP (Coefficient of Performance), ofthe heat pump is here noticeably better than when using a heatexchanger. Here, the heat pump facilitates both cooling/heating for lowcosts. The costs essentially arise with regard to the electrical powerconsumed, which can be used for the operation of the heat pump.

In the method as described above, the thermal energy passed from theheat pump to the liquids by means of the first heat exchanger cancontribute to the heating thereof. Consequently, the thermal energy fedfrom the heat pump, for example with the aid of a suitable liquid, suchas water, can be transferred in the first heat exchanger to the liquidto be heated. After the heat exchange the liquid made cooler by the heatexchange can now be passed back to the heat pump.

In the method as described above, the heating of the liquids can takeplace completely by the thermal energy fed by means of the heat pump.The heat pump and the thermal energy taken from the cooling cellsprovide the heating of the product.

In a device according to an embodiment of the invention as describedabove the preheating of the liquids to be filled, for example, beveragejuices, can take place completely by the thermal energy fed by means ofthe heat pump. That is, with the aid of the thermal energy extractedfrom the cooling tunnel and the heat pump and the electrical energysupplied to the heat pump, the heating of the liquids can take placecompletely before the filling without additional heating stages beingrequired.

In the method as described above a second heat exchanger can be providedadditionally in series with the heat pump for heating the liquids beforefilling such that the heated cooling liquid passes from the coolingtunnel to the second heat exchanger and thereafter to the heat pump, sothat at least one part of the thermal energy of the heated coolingliquid can be initially transferred by means of the second heatexchanger to the liquid to be heated and thereafter at least one furtherpart of the thermal energy can be transferred by means of the heat pumpto the flash pasteuriser for further heating of the liquids.

With regard to the heating of the product before filling, the secondheat exchanger can be provided in series with a heat pump. With regardto the heating of liquids, the series connection of the second heatexchanger to the heat pump in particular facilitates an increase in thetemperature level in the heat pump and therefore also an improvement inthe performance figure of the heat pump. In this respect, typically twosteps occur in the heating of the liquid to be filled—the heat transferby means of the second heat exchanger in particular for directlytransferable thermal energies from the cooling tunnel to the liquid andthen the increase of the energy level to the specified temperature forthe preheating of the liquid, i.e. of the product, with the aid of theheat pump.

A second heat exchanger can be provided additionally in parallel withthe heat pump for heating the liquids before filling such that at leastpart of the heated cooling liquid passes from the cooling tunnel to thesecond heat exchanger and at least a further part of the heated coolingliquid passes from the cooling tunnel to the heat pump, so that at leastone part of the thermal energy of the heated cooling liquid can betransferred by means of the second heat exchanger to the liquid to beheated and at least one further part of the thermal energy can betransferred by means of the heat pump to the flash pasteuriser forfurther heating of the liquids.

With regard to the heating of the product before filling, the secondheat exchanger can be provided in parallel to the heat pump. Accordingto the parallel configuration of the heat pump and the second heatexchanger with regard to the heating of the product, a first cascade ofcooling cells can, for example, be used for direct thermal transferthrough the second heat exchanger. This cooling liquid is for examplereturned to the cooling cells after the heat exchange in the second heatexchanger. A second, parallel cascade of cooling cells is for exampleconnected to the heat pump, for example additionally with the aid of asimple pump, whereby the energy level of the thermal energy of thesecond cascade can be increased so that this energy level for heatingthe liquids to be filled can be raised to the desired fillingtemperature.

In the method as described above the part of the heated cooling liquid,which passes to the second heat exchanger, can be hotter than the partof the heated cooling liquid, which passes to the heat pump.

For example, the temperature in the group of the first cooling cells,which are typically arranged sequentially, is higher than in the groupof the second cooling cells, which are similarly typically arrangedsequentially. Due to the parallel configuration of the second heatexchanger corresponding to the first cascade and of the heat pumpcorresponding to the second cascade a still higher energy level andtherefore a higher performance figure of the heat pump can be achieved.The control of the device according to the invention as described abovecan for example be implemented with a suitable control unit, such as acomputer.

The invention also comprises a device for implementing the method forthe hot filling of liquids as described above.

In a device according to an embodiment of the invention the flashpasteuriser, filling station and cooling tunnel can each be formedseparately. Each of these elements can therefore be formed separatelyfrom the other elements. The elements can be connected by suitableconveyor and/or transport elements, for example pipes for the transportof products or other liquids, which can act as auxiliary liquids for thetransfer of heat, as well as conveyor belts or a transport facility forcontainers.

In the device according to an embodiment of the invention the first heatexchanger of the flash pasteuriser as described above can comprise aplate heat exchanger, PHE, or a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, STHE.That is, currently available types of heat exchanger can be used totransfer the thermal energy supplied by the heat pump to the liquid tobe heated. Thus, the heat transfer of the liquid to be heated in theflash pasteuriser is typically decoupled from the filling process, whichtypically occurs after heating, and the cooling process which follows.

The heat pump used in the device according to an embodiment of theinvention can comprise for example a compression heat pump, for examplean electrically driven compression heat pump, an ammonia heat pump or aheat pump with the transcritical CO2 process. That is, currentlyavailable types of heat pump can be used, in particular those in whichammonia or CO2 are used as coolant. The latter enables the use ofparticularly energy efficient heat pumps, whereby at the same timecoolant such as nitrogen or halogen alkanes can be dispensed with,whereby the latter may possibly be undesirable for filling systems andhalogen alkanes furthermore may not be desirable due to their propertyas climate-damaging gases.

The heat pump of a device according to an embodiment of the invention,as described above, can typically be provided between one of the coolingcells of the cooling tunnel and the first heat exchanger of the flashpasteuriser. The heat pump can therefore be provided between themulti-cell cooling tunnel and the heat exchanger. Here for example, theheated coolant/liquid from the cooling tunnel can be pumped to the heatpump by means of a simple pump. After the heat exchange the now coolerliquid is returned to the cooling tunnel, for example again with anadditional pump.

In a device according to an embodiment of the invention, as describedabove, the cooling cells of the cooling tunnel are for example joinedtogether such that cooling liquid from one cooling cell can be pumpedinto one or a plurality of neighbouring cooling cells, for example inparticular from a colder cooling cell to a hotter cooling cell. Afterfilling, the filled and closed containers pass through the coolingtunnel, i.e. a cooling section with a plurality of similar or the sametype of cooling cells. The cooling cells differ typically due to thetemperatures which respectively prevail in a cooling cell.

Each of the cooling cells contains typically a sprinkling system orspray device to spray the containers with cooling liquid. The containersto be cooled are also, for example, sprinkled with water. In this way aheat exchange between the cooling water and the liquid filled into thecontainers can occur.

The cooling liquid is for example collected and namely separately foreach cooling cell. Typically there is a temperature gradient from thefirst to the last of the plurality of cooling cells, whereby typicallythe first cooling cell is the hottest and the last cooling cell is thecoldest cooling cell. The reservoirs/collecting basins for the coolingliquid/water of the cooling cells are for example joined together sothat cooling water from one cooling cell can be pumped into an adjacentcooling cell where it can be used again optionally for sprinkling.

In a device according to an embodiment of the invention a heat pump canbe provided between the cooling cell with the highest temperature of theheated coolant and the first heat exchanger. Typically this is the firstcooling cell of the cooling tunnel.

In device according to an embodiment of the invention and with the useof two heat exchangers the liquid to be heated flows to the first and tothe second heat exchanger. The two heat exchangers are thereforeprovided in series in the flash pasteuriser.

Therefore, use of a heat pump is required which can be providedseparately from the cooling tunnel, separately from the filling stationand the flash pasteuriser and offers the possibility of an efficient andhigh energy recovery within the scope of the product preheating. The useof a heat pump in parallel or series configuration with a heat exchangerfacilitates a further increase in efficiency and at the same time animprovement in the performance figure of the heat pump.

FIG. 1 shows a product preheating system. The product, i.e. a liquid tobe heated and to be cooled again after filling, such as a juicebeverage, is passed through a product line 1, controlled by a valve 2,to a heat exchanger 3. The product flows through the heat exchanger 3.Heated coolant, such as cooling water from the cooling section 20, isused to partially heat the product. The heated cooling water from thecooling section/cooling tunnel 20 is pumped through a line 4 and a pump5 to the heat exchanger 3.

The product is passed through a line 11 to a further heat exchanger 12,which essentially acts as a flash pasteuriser. The heat exchanger/flashpasteuriser 12 has vapour, typically steam, passing through it, whichtransfers its thermal energy to the product flowing through the flashpasteuriser 12. The vapour is passed to the heat exchanger/flashpasteuriser 12 with the aid of the line 13 and the vapour, now coolerafter the heat exchange, is led away from the flash pasteuriser 12through the line 14. Here, the vapour used in this process, for examplesteam, can be heated by conventional means.

The heating of the product in the flash pasteuriser 12 can take place upto temperatures of 80-90° C., depending on the temperature required forthe product. The heated product can be transported to a filling station15 through suitable feed lines 16, which are shown purely schematicallywith an arrow, but which may be located spatially separate from theflash pasteuriser 12. The filling station 15 can comprise a suitabledevice for the hot filling of the product, i.e. the heated liquid, incontainers 25, for example bottles, as they are known in the state ofthe art. Within the device 15 the containers 25 are typically closed andthen passed by means of a transport device 17, which again is indicatedpurely schematically as an arrow, to the cooling section/cooling tunnel20.

The cooling tunnel/cooling section 20 consists of a plurality of coolingcells. In FIG. 1 six cooling cells 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5 and 20.6are illustrated purely exemplarily. The filled containers 25 passthrough, for example, the immediately adjacent cooling cells with theaid of a suitable transport medium, such as a conveyor belt. Here, thefilled containers 25, say bottles, can be passed directly from onecooling cell to another.

The cooling cells furthermore comprise sprinkling systems 21.1, 21.2,21.3, 21.4, 21.5 and 21.6, which are illustrated schematically. The saidsprinkling systems are used to sprinkle the closed containers 25 to becooled with a cooling liquid, for example water, in order to cool them.The cooling water is passed through the cooling water feed lines 25.1,25.2, 25.3, 25.4, 25.5 and 25.6 to the sprinkling devices. Here, thecoolant used can be collected by coolant basins, which are designated bythe reference numerals 23.1, 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, 23.5 and 23.6. From thedesignated coolant basins 23.1, 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, 23.5 and 23.6 at leastpart of the cooling water can be used again with the aid of pumps 22.1,22.2, 22.3, 22.4, 22.5 and 22.6 for sprinkling. Furthermore, fresh, forexample cooler coolant, say water, can also be fed in (not illustratedhere). Furthermore, heated cooling water which has dissipated part ofits heat in the product in the heat exchanger 3 and which subsequentlyhas been cooled again by means of the cooling tower 7 can again bepassed through a feed line 8, a conventional pump 9 and a feed line 10to the cooling tunnel 20.

FIG. 1 illustrates exemplarily that the water cooled again with the aidof the cooling tower 7, i.e. after the cooling process in the coolingtower 7, is fed to the coldest of the cooling cells 20.1, 20.2, 20.3,20.4, 20.5 and 20.6, in this case the cooling cell 20.6. The coolantcollection basins 23.1, 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, 23.5 and 23.6 are adjacent toone another so that at least two adjacent cooling cells can be connectedby suitable lines 24.1, 24.2, 24.3, 24.4 and 24.5. In this example inthe region before the heat exchanger 3 the coolant can have exemplarytemperatures in the range of approximately 40-70° C. Once a part of thethermal energy has been transferred to the product, the coolant can havea slightly lower temperature of approximately 35° to 40° C., before itis passed by means of the line 6 into the cooling tower 7. Aftercooling, i.e. after passing through the cooling tower 7, the coolant canfor example have a temperature of approximately 30° C. Here however,these temperature figures may vary and may depend on the machine length,the length of the lines and the number of the cooling cells, forexample. Similarly, the throughput of the cooling tower 7 can varybetween 17 m³ and 43 m³ per hour.

FIG. 2 shows a device for the hot filling of liquids/products, inparticular beverage juices, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 2 again shows a cooling tunnel/cooling section 20, asalready described in FIG. 1, so that the elements of this cooling tunnel20 are not described again. In FIG. 2 the product, i.e. the liquid to beheated, say a beverage juice, is passed through a product line 1 to aheat exchanger/flash pasteuriser 12.

As already described in FIG. 1, after heating the liquid is passed bymeans of a purely schematically illustrated line 16 to a filling station15. Here the heated liquid is filled into the container 25, for examplebottles. The containers 25 are closed in the filling station afterfilling. The closed, hot containers 25 are passed by means of a suitabletransport section 17 to the cooling tunnel/cooling section 20.

In contrast to FIG. 1, in FIG. 2 the liquid to be heated, i.e. theproduct, is heated in the flash pasteuriser 12 not with the aid ofvapour, but with the aid of a suitable liquid, for example water, whichis passed from a heat pump which has the reference numeral 30. The heatpump 30 passes a suitably heated liquid through the feed line 19 a tothe flash pasteuriser/heat exchanger 12, in which the heat transfer tothe product takes place. After the heat transfer the now cooler liquidcan be passed back through the line 19 b to the heat pump 30 with theaid of a pump 18.

The heat pump 30 comprises an element 34 for the heat dissipation, anelement 31 for heat absorption, and a throttle 33 and a compressor 32.Within the heat pump the circulation paths are shown by arrows 35 and36. The temperatures on the right, cooler side of the heat pumps aredesignated with TC2 and TC1. Here TC1 can be say 16° C., but othertemperatures are also possible depending on the machine ratings, machinelength, insulation, etc. Similarly, the temperature TC2 can be say 30 to32° C., but similarly other temperatures are also possible. For example,the temperature T1 can be say 28° C., the temperature T2 say 96° C., thetemperature T3 say 28° C. and the temperature T4 say 27° C. Here, thesetemperature figures should be regarded as purely exemplary and similarlyother temperature figures are also possible depending on the rating ofthe heat pump 30, its performance figure, the recovered electricalenergy and other parameters according to the rating of the machines.

In FIG. 2 heated cooling liquid from the cooling section 20 is passed tothe heat pump 30. Here for example, the heated cooling liquid is pumpedthrough a feed line 4 by means of a conventional pump 5 to the heat pump30, i.e. in particular to the element 31 of the heat pump 30, from oneof the cooling cells of the cooling section 20, for example from thehottest of the cooling cells. After passing through the heat pump 30,i.e. in particular of the element 31 of the heat pump 30, the now coolercooling liquid is passed back into the cooling section through the line10. For this purpose a further auxiliary pump, not illustrated here, canbe used. Typically the cooling liquid is passed back to the coldest ofthe cooling cells 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5 and 20.6, in this examplethe cooling cell with the reference numeral 20.6. The use, shown as anexample, of a heat pump 30 separately from the cooling section 20, theflash pasteuriser 12 and the filling station 15, facilitates a higherdegree of utilisation of the recovery of thermal energy and for lowercosts the use of a heat pump 30 facilitates cooling or also heating.

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment within the scope of the presentinvention. In turn a cooling section/cooling tunnel 20 is used, as hasalready been described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Here too, thesame elements have the same reference numerals and are not quoted againhere.

In the device according to the invention in FIG. 3 the liquid to beheated, i.e. the product, is in turn passed through the product line 1to the device. The device comprises here two heat exchangers, which aredesignated with the reference numerals 60 and 62. The heat exchangers 62and 60 are for example provided in series in the flash pasteuriser. Theheat exchangers 60 and 62 are connected in series through the line withthe reference numeral 61.

After being heated and passing through the heat exchanger 62, theproduct is passed through a suitable line system 63 to the fillingstation 15. The filling station 15 can be a filling station, as has beenalready described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. After the fillingprocess and closure of the containers 25, in which the heated liquid hasbeen filled, the transport of the containers 25 to the cooling tunnel 20can be carried out using a suitable transport section 17. Similarly, theuse of the heated coolant, for example cooling water from the coolingsection/cooling tower 20, is provided in series. The second heatexchanger 60 is here provided in series to the heat pump 50, i.e. withregard to the heating. The heated coolant from the cooling section 20 ispassed or pumped into the heat exchanger 60 through a feed line 4 andthe pump 5 and by means of feed line 66. Here, the heated coolant forexample is used in a first step, i.e. for direct transferable energies,to heat the product. Thus, heating of the product passed through thefeed line 1 takes place already by means of the heat exchanger 60.

After heating in the heat exchanger 60, the heated product is passed tothe heat exchanger 62. The cooling liquid, which has a slightly cooledtemperature level through use in the heat exchanger 60, is passed fromthe heat exchanger 60 by means of the feed line 67 to the heat pump 50.

The heat pump 50 comprises the heat pump element 51 for heat absorption,heat pump element 54 for heat dissipation, as well as the compressor 52and the throttle 53. The reference numerals 55 and 56 designate thedirection of flow within the heat pump 50. A suitable liquid for theheat transfer is passed to the first heat exchanger 62 from the element54 of the heat pump 50 through the feed line 64, whereby the product canbe heated to the desired target temperature. After heating in the heatexchanger 62 the cooled liquid is passed through the feed line 65 backto the heat pump 50. Here it is passed into the element 54 of the heatpump 50. The cooling liquid, cooled after passing through the element51, is passed back to the cooling tunnel 20 through the line 10. Here,as illustrated in FIG. 3 exemplarily, this cooling liquid is passed tothe coldest of the cells 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5 and 20.6 of thecooling tunnel, cell 20.6.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further embodiment according to the presentinvention. In FIG. 4 a cooling tunnel/cooling section 70 is illustrated,which is similar to the cooling sections illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, butis however different in that groups of cooling cells of the coolingsection can discharge the cooling water extracted from them to differentelements. However, it would also be possible to use a cooling cell asillustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

The cooling section 70 comprises, as exemplarily illustrated, sixcooling cells 70.1, 70.2, 70.3, 70.4, 70.5 and 70.6. These cooling cellscomprise sprinkling facilities/systems 71.1, 71.2, 71.3, 71.4, 71.5 and71.6. These sprinkling systems 71.1, 71.2, 71.3, 71.4, 71.5 and 71.6,which are illustrated purely schematically as having two arms, receivethe coolant, say water, for sprinkling through lines 75.1, 75.2, 75.3,75.4, 75.5 and 75.6. The cooling water dripping or draining from thecontainers 25 after sprinkling is collected in the respective collectingcontainers 73.1, 73.2, 73.3, 73.4, 73.5 and 73.6, which can be open, inthe respective cooling cells 70.1, 70.2, 70.3, 70.4, 70.5 and 70.6. Thecollected cooling water can at least be partially used by the pumps72.1, 72.2, 72.3, 72.4, 72.5 and 72.6 for sprinkling. Here, similarlycooler freshwater can be used from other feed-line sources—not shownhere. Furthermore, cooler water, which flows back from a heat pump 80,can be passed to the cooling cells 70.1, 70.2, 70.3, 70.4, 70.5 and70.6, as is described in the following.

In FIG. 4 the liquid to be heated, i.e. the product, say a beveragejuice, is in turn passed through the product feed line 1 to the flashpasteuriser. The device in turn comprises two heat exchangers 92 and 90.The heat exchangers 92 and 90 are for example provided in series in theflash pasteuriser. The second heat exchanger 90 is connected to thefirst heat exchanger 92 through a line 91. In the second heat exchanger90 the product fed through the line 1 is at least partially heated. Forfurther heating to the required target temperature the product is thenpassed to the heat exchanger 92. With regard to the heating of theproduct the second heat exchanger 90 is provided in parallel to a heatpump 80, as described below.

After heating to the target temperature, the product is fed to a fillingstation 15 through a line 93 which is drawn purely schematically. Thefilling station 15 corresponds to the filling stations already outlinedabove in connection with FIGS. 1-3. Purely schematically, the referencenumeral 17 in turn indicates that the liquid filled into containers 25,whereby the containers 25 are subsequently closed, can be passed on tothe cooling section/cooling tunnel 70. Here, the filling device and thecooling section can be provided spatially separate from one another. Thesame applies to the flash pasteuriser with the heat exchangers 90 and92.

FIG. 4 also shows the heat pump 80, which is provided with the heat pumpelement 81 for heat absorption on the cooler side of the heat pump 80and heat pump element 84 for heat dissipation on the hotter side of theheat pump 80. Between the element 81 and the element 84 a compressor 82is provided as well as a throttle 83 on the oppositely situated side.The reference numerals 85 and 86 designate the direction of flow withinthe inner circuit of the heat pump.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 a first cascade, for examplecomprising a group of three cooling cells 70.1, 70.2, 70.3, whereby anyother grouping is possible, is connected to the heat exchanger 90. Thatis, the heated cooling liquid from this group, typically extracted fromthe hottest collecting basin for cooling liquid 73.1, is passed to theheat exchanger 90 through a feed line 78 and a pump 99 and a furtherfeed line 98 to transfer energy from the first cascade to the product.Once heat transfer is complete the coolant is returned to the groupthrough a return line 97. It should be noted that there is a connectionbetween the elements of the group. The connection is designated with thereference numerals 74.1 and 74.2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further group, which consists exemplarily of threecooling cells 70.4, 70.5 and 70.6, whereby however other grouping isalso possible. These cooling cells are similarly connected to theconnecting elements 74.4 and 74.5. Here coolant is passed to the heatpump 80 from the hottest of the two cascades, consisting of the cells70.4, 70.5 and 70.6, i.e. from the cell 70.4 and its collecting basin73.4 through a feed line 77 and pump 89. After transfer of the heat fromthe coolant, which is passed through the heat pump element 81, the nowcooler coolant is passed back to this cell with the reference numeral70.6, that is the coldest of the second group. Due to the herewithprovided parallel heating of the product by means of the heat exchanger90 and the heat pump 80, efficient product heating can be achieved.

For the devices illustrated in FIGS. 2-4 the heating and cooling of theproduct can be controlled by a suitable computer controller, which isnot illustrated here.

It is self-evident that the illustrated devices can also be analogouslyused for a specified cooling of products to lower temperatures.

It is self-evident that the features mentioned in the above describedembodiments are not restricted particularly to the combinationsillustrated in the figures, but rather are also possible in othercombinations.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A method for hot filling of liquids using a flash pasteurizerincluding a first heat exchanger, a filling station and a cooling tunnelincluding a plurality of cooling cells, the method comprising: fillingthe liquids into containers in the filling station; cooling the filledcontainers in the cooling tunnel using a cooling liquid; heating theliquids before the filling of the liquids into the containers in thefilling station, wherein thermal energy from the cooling liquid that washeated during the cooling of the filled containers is fed to the flashpasteurizer using a separate heat pump.
 2. The method recited in claim1, wherein the liquids are juices.
 3. The method recited in claim 1,wherein the containers are bottles.
 4. The method recited in claim 1,wherein the cooling liquid is water.
 5. The method recited in claim 1,wherein the thermal energy fed from the heat pump to the liquids istransferred to the liquids using the first heat exchanger.
 6. The methodrecited in claim 1, wherein the heating the liquids is completelyimplemented by the thermal energy fed to the liquids using the heatpump.
 7. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising: providing asecond heat exchanger in series with the heat pump; passing the coolingliquid from the cooling tunnel through the second heat exchanger andthen to the heat pump, the second heat exchanger heating the liquidsbefore the filling of the liquids into the containers so as to initiallytransfer a part of the thermal energy of the heated cooling liquid andthe heat pump transferring a further part of the thermal energy forfurther heating of the liquids.
 8. The method recited in claim 1,further comprising: providing a second heat exchanger in parallel withthe heat pump; passing a first part of the cooling liquid from thecooling tunnel to the second heat exchanger, the second heat exchangerheating the liquids before the filling of the liquids into thecontainers so as to transfer a part of the thermal energy of the heatedcooling liquid; and passing a second part of the cooling liquid from thecooling tunnel to the heat pump so as to transfer a further part of thethermal energy for further heating of the liquids.
 9. The method recitedin claim 8, wherein a first portion of the heated cooling liquid thatpasses to the second heat exchanger is hotter than a second portion ofthe heated cooling liquid that passes to the heat pump.
 10. A device forhot filling of liquids, the device comprising: a flash pasteurizerincluding a first heat exchanger; a filling station configured to fillcontainers with liquids; a cooling tunnel including a plurality ofcooling cells for cooling the filled containers; and a separate heatpump for feeding thermal energy from the cooling liquid heated in thecooling tunnel to the liquids before the filling of the liquids into thecontainers.
 11. The device recited in claim 10, wherein the flashpasteurizer, the filling station and the cooling tunnel are separate.12. The device recited in claim 10, wherein the first heat exchangerincludes one of a plate heat exchanger and a shell-and-tube heatexchanger.
 13. The device recited in claim 10, wherein the heat pumpincludes one of a compression heat pump, an ammonia heat pump or a heatpump with a transcritical CO₂ process.
 14. The device recited in claim10, wherein the heat pump is disposed between a first of the pluralityof cooling cells and the first heat exchanger.
 15. The device recited inclaim 14, wherein the first of the plurality of cooling cells has ahighest temperature of the heated cooling liquid.
 16. The device recitedin claim 10, wherein the plurality of cooling cells are connected so asto provide pumping of cooling liquid from one cooling cell to at leastone of a neighboring cooling cell.
 17. The device recited in claim 10,wherein each of the plurality of cooling cells includes a sprinklingsystem for spraying the containers with cooling liquid.
 18. The devicerecited in claim 10, further comprising a second heat exchanger inseries with the heat pump, the second heat exchanger configured toreceive the cooling liquid from the cooling tunnel and transfer thermalenergy from the cooling liquid to the liquids before filling the liquidsinto the containers.
 19. The device recited in claim 10, furthercomprising a second heat exchanger in parallel with the heat pump, thesecond heat exchanger configured to receive a part of the cooling liquidfrom the cooling tunnel and transfer thermal energy from the coolingliquid to the liquids before filling the liquids into the containers.